Duangrat Chookird, Chutima Tantikitti, Amornrat Phongdara, and Manee Srichanun

pp. 119 - 127

Abstract

Recent increases in the price and demand of fishmeal, the primary protein source in shrimp feeds, have caused a
search for alternative protein sources. Hemoglobin powder (HE) is a by-product produced by separating hemoglobin from
plasma of farm animal un-coagulant blood. HE contains high protein content but low lipid content, and thus has high
potential for fishmeal substitution.
A six week feeding trial was carried out to investigate effects of HE substituted for fishmeal protein on growth performance, protein digestibility and trypsin gene expression in Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). Six diets with
0%, 12.5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of HE replacing fishmeal protein were fed four times daily to six groups of shrimp with
an average initial weight of 3.53 g/shrimp. Growth of shrimp decreased with increasing level of HE substitution. Although the
12.5% HE substitution caused significantly lower final weight, weight gain, SGR, feed intake, PER and PPV in comparison
with the control diet, FCR of this diet was not statistically different (p<0.05).
The activity of trypsin of shrimp was similar among the groups fed diets with HE substitution not higher than 50%
(p>0.05). In-vitro and in-vivo protein digestibility of 12.5% HE substitution were significantly lower than that of the control
group in which the trypsin gene expression of shrimp fed 12.5% HE substituted diet was the highest.